West Coast braces for weekend storm

Environment Canada is expecting winds up to 90 km/h to rock local coastlines this weekend.

The Pacific Rim National Park has issued a storm event advisory urging visitors to use extra caution on beaches, shorelines and on the water from Jan. 11-13.

The storm-force winds are expected to generate waves up to 10 metres high and could cause flooded beaches, floating logs, large waves breaking high up on shore and extremely hazardous surfing conditions, according to Environment Canada.

Pacific Rim National Park officials are prepared to temporarily close sections of the Park depending on the stormâ€™s severity, according to Parks Canada spokesperson Tania Peters.

She said weather patterns have changed from yesterday and suggest a less significant storm than was initially anticipated so the Park currently remains open but visitors should use extra caution and be prepared for temporary closures.

â€œYesterday it was looking to be worse so weâ€™re not going to have any for sure closures in place but we still want to let people know that itâ€™s going to be pretty stormy out there this weekend from what weâ€™re seeing from Environment Canada,â€ she said.

â€œWeâ€™re not sure exactly what itâ€™s going to look like…Weâ€™ll be monitoring it over the weekend and if we start to see rising water levels or things that could be a hazard then we might close off some sections.â€